Silk Cashew Milk - Unsweetened

Many moons ago I made the switch to using almond milk in a majority of my cooking (I still use skim milk on occasion, but I typically go with non-dairy milks). Initially it was quite the venture into almond milk just due to the vast difference in taste and texture (particularly when put into ice coffee). I have always been a cashew fan, so when I heard there was a new Silk Cashew Milk - Unsweetened out I had to try it. Low and behold I spotted it at a local grocery store so I snatched up a container.

 

The Silk brand is my "go-to" for non-dairy milks, so to see a cashew variety I was sold from the get-go. The cashew milk is quite thick and creamy. I feel a lot creamier than your average almond milk and definitely creamer than skim milk. Whereas the flavor of the cashew milk is what sold me. It tastes very much like cashews and is hands down a winner. Clearly, if you're not a fan of cashews, then you would not be a fan of this. This is the unsweetened variety, while they also have an original version which is sweetened and is 60 calories per 1 cup serving.  According to the brands website the product is free of dairy, soy, lactose, gluten, casein, egg and MSG.

 

Unlike some of the other almond milks, these are not available flavored, but that doesn't mean you could not flavor your milk in the comfort of your own  home. I have used this in my oatmeal, adding a drop of vanilla extract into the bowl. It's good alongside some cereal, it's good on its own and it's also good as a milk substitute in recipes.

 

A serving, 1 cup, is 25 calories or 1 points plus value (for my Weight Watchers friends you can have 1/2 cup for 0 points plus values or even up to 2 cups for 1 points plus values)

Trader Joe's Coconut Creamer

I'm a coffee lover ... but I don't like having my coffee filled with unnecessary calories. Years ago I cut back from being an extra cream, extra-extra sugar kind of girl to stopping coffee all together. After some time kicking the caffeine habit I went back to having coffee, but this time with skim milk and Splenda. Even today, I'm a stickler and don't really like "wasting" points/calories on drinks. Occasionally I'll allow myself a 1-point splurge for a large ice coffee with skim milk.

 

But since I'm always on the hunt for some lower point options for milk/cream in my coffee I was pretty excited when I spotted this Trader Joe's Coconut Creamer on the shelf. I've tried almond milks in my coffee in the past and I've found the unsweetened variety just didn't give a presentable appearance to my coffee. It made it a muddy brown color and you could see the almond 'specks' floating around/settling to the bottom of the cup ... and it just grossed me out. So when I saw this I was all sorts of excited. Reason being because creamers are known to be thicker in consistency (which means I could use less and get a better suited color to my coffee).

 

The creamer is moderately thick in consistency, white in color and creamy. Since it is coconut creamer, it does have a very faint coconut flavor to it, but it's not something you'll truly notice in your cup of joe (well, unless you're using a lot of it). Overall I have found I truly enjoy this and will undoubtedly repurchase.

A 1 tbsp serving is 5 calories or 0 points plus. You can have up to 4 tbsp for 0 points plus values.

Vega Energizing Smoothie – Vanilla Almondilla

I had been searching for the Vega Energizing Smoothies for months. I have seen the full size pouches for sale at stores and online, but I wanted to try out a single serving packet before I made the plunge into a pricey multi-serving pack. Finally, my search came to an end on a trip to Whole Foods where I stumbled upon single serve packets for sale.  I picked up a few different flavors but the first one I wanted to try was the Vanilla Almondilla because vanilla is a universal flavor and can truly be mixed with any fruit or flavor combination.

I don’t particularly like drinking my calories/points plus for the day, but I do like smoothies every now and again. Protein mix based smoothies or yogurt smoothies it’s nice to mix up the routine once in a while.

The packet stated to mix the smoothie mix with 1 cup of water, so I opted to mix it up in a cup before adding it to my blender. After mixing … the smoothie mix was rather, green. Green coloring in food, particularly if it’s not broccoli or a mint flavored beverage or food it is a little alarming to me.  So I took a small sip off my spoon and gagged. Now I realize these are natural plant based product … but I wasn’t expecting it to taste like grass. It had no real vanilla flavor. It tasted like I went into a field, picked some grass, pulverized it into a powder, mixed it with water and took a sip.  I was so turned off I couldn’t even put it into the blender because I felt I’d essentially just be ruining my daily banana (or wasting it).  So I dumped my drink down the drain and called it a day with the Vega mix.  Looks like I may end up needing to return the remaining packets I bought because I’d rather try something else that I may like than to be disappointed again.  Now this wasn’t my forte, but others may enjoy it – so to each their own.

If you’re wondering a pack has 92 calories in it, which is 2 points plus values.

QUESTION:

Have you tried any good smoothie mix as of late?